Recommendations for my first mechanical keyboard

[Air tree]

Well i'm in the market for my first mech keyboard.

I have only had the chance to test cherry mx blues but i found that i like them very much so.

I will be gaming and typing.

My req for a keyboard are the following:

Cherry mx blues or you can recommend a different switch if you think there is a better switch for me.

Tenkeyless

Backlight is always good but not needed at all.

Max budget $150 but lower is always better

And that's about it.

[Muirium]

Usually, when people are new to the scene, they'll come with an impossible wish list. But yours is perfectly reasonable. You're doing it wrong!

Anyway, the answer is that any Tenkeyless Cherry MX based board should be fine. CM Quickfire Rapid, Filco Majestouch 2 TKL, even a Ducky Shine II TKL if you can still find one. The Filco is meant to be the best built of the bunch, the Ducky has programmable backlighting, and the Quickfire is the cheapest and best value for money if you can stand the branding. They're all excellent first time MX keyboards.

Ducky has just released the Shine III which has fancier backlighting still, but is only full size for the moment. Their TKL might be out in a few months, they always do full size first then TKL version. If you are patient, it's probably irresistible.

Filco just announced its first (outside Japan) Bluetooth keyboard: the Minila Air. It's smaller than you're asking for (and has a weird layout) but it's a good sign that Bluetooth is coming to a Filco TKL in the next version. No idea when it's due, though.

TKLs are a great place to start. There are more options out there than I've just thought of, too. Those are just the big names. As for switch: if you like it, and the noise doesn't bother you, go blue. Brown is quieter, red is said to be a little quicker for gaming as it's extra light and smooth. All of them are a substantial upgrade, in any case.

[Findecanor]

The CM Storm Quickfire Rapid seems to be available with MX blues only in US-ANSI layout. If you are in Europe and want the layout of your country, you are limited to MX Red or Black for the Quickfire Rapid.

[undertaken316]

Hey if you want a cheap mech keyboard I personally recommend the SS 6GV2 pro Gaming that costs about 80$ its a nice "entry level" mech keyboard that features cherry black switches.

http://youtu.be/ygTeNHakElI

[gh_pp]

For $150 you have a lot of budget to work around with. Basically you can get any TKL model for $150 except the topre.

If you want to fully customize your layout, key colors, etc, Wasd keyboard fits the bill right.

If you live in the US, there are always deals online and the CMQFR can be had for around $60 after MIR.

If you don’t care to wait around for deals, the CM QFR stealth is only $10 more expensive, I’d suggest getting that instead of the QFR.

You didn’t say what games you play. If MMO only, mx blue is ok but otherwise people usually go with mx red.

[gh_pp]

I’m big fan of the TKL layout; here are a few things you want to consider
• Do you use the media keys? Usually it’s either the windows right click key (useless IMO) or the Fn function keys. I prefer the latter. (CM QFP has fn, Leopold has right click)
• Back lit or not?
• DIP switches to swap ctrl/caplock etc? (not very useful unless you plan to use your keyboard on different computers every day. OSes provide permanent key mapping)
• Programmable key mapping (the poker can do this, very handy. But I don’t know of any TKL have this feature)
• Aesthetic keycap. Without going the custom keycaps route, I found that the only keyboards that have a nice font are the topres and the ducky PBT. The CMQFP has an ugly font.
• PBT vs ABS keycap. Again, I am not aware of any TKL keyboard with PBT keycaps except the realforce, which is out of your budget. Ducky has one but it is fullsize.
• Built-in USB hub. Again not aware of any TKL with this feature. Very handy to reduce clutter on your desk.
• Embedded numpad (toggle via numlock). realforce has this. I don't use it often but it's handy when needed.